Of Best Friends and Car Crashes
by Kkarrie
Summary: "What would you do, Shawn? What would you do if it was your best friend?" Alice "Best Friend" Bundy. Gus is in a coma, Shawn is on the case, but how far will he go to solve it?
1. When You're The Best of Friends

"What would you do Shawn? What would you do if it was your best friend?" Alice Bundy's words had stayed in Shawn Spencer's mind for the past four years. He had thought about it when Gus had been stuck in that bank, he'd thought about it when Mr. Yin had come out to play and he was thinking about it now as he sat in this stupid hospital next to Gus' bed. What would he do? Shawn rubbed his hands over his face and thought about this morning and how if he had known it could possibly be the last time he talked with his best friend things might have played out differently.

"_Shawn I am not bailing out on my route today just so you can go to the police station and flirt with Juliet." Gus snapped at his friend. "We have six new products out and I need to get them into the doctor's hands before five today."_

"_Dude, we just need to swing by and pick up our check." Shawn almost whined. "It'll be fast."_

"_You mean the check for the $1.37 we were refunded for the snicker's bar you bought while we were on a case last week?" Gus asked, snapping his samples case closed._

"_Exactly, I was thinking we could swing by pick it up, we'll get another snicker's with the money and then you can go on your merry way of peddling ointments and pills." Shawn explained._

"_Except that when we swing by, you'll either barge into a case that isn't ours or you'll think Juliet's hair is particularly wonderful today and spend hours at the station. Forget it Shawn, I have a job to do." With that Gus left the Psych office, slamming the door behind him._

"Shawn?" Juliet came into the room tentatively. Shawn turned to look at the detective. It was Saturday and she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Normally he would have said something about how nice she looked or compared her to a character from a TV show he had watched as a kid. Today he just didn't feel like it. He'd been at the hospital all night. He hadn't shaved or even changed his clothes, which were muddy from having to ride his bike in the rain since Gus had taken the blueberry with him. "Shawn?" Juliet repeated herself when he didn't respond.

"Hey Jules," Shawn's voice was quiet, the usual spark of excitement about life gone. He didn't even look over to Juliet. He just stared at the bed where his best friend was hooked up to, what seemed like, every machine in the hospital.

"Shawn, your dad called the station. He says you haven't been answering your phone." Juliet came further into the room.

Shawn dug his phone out of his pocket and showed Juliet a blank screen. "The battery died yesterday, that's why…." Shawn trailed off.

"That's why Gus couldn't call you." Juliet finished for him. She hesitantly reached out a hand and placed it on Shawn's shoulder.

"What happened?" Shawn, wasn't sure if he was asking Juliet or himself.

Juliet slowly sank into the chair next to Shawn. "That's what we were hoping you could tell us. We tracked down the last office he was supposed to have visited. They said Gus never showed up for his appointment." Juliet noticed Shawn's shoulders tighten as she relayed the details of what they knew to him.

"He was just lying there," Shawn murmured after a while. "They pulled him out of the car, and he was just lying there." Shawn buried his head in his hands.

"We're doing a recreation of the accident. We will find out what happened." Juliet promised him. When Shawn didn't respond to her, Juliet slipped quietly out of the room.

It was a few hours before Shawn stirred. The sky was dark outside and the hospital quiet, except for the constant buzz and whir of the machines. Shawn looked at Gus lying in the bed. He had never expected anything like this to happen. Gus was supposed to outlive him or they were going to die together in a fiery crash. Then there would be a montage of pictures at the funeral accompanied by _You've Got a Friend in Me. _Shawn wasn't supposed to be sitting in a hospital next to Gus, when Gus didn't even know he was here. There was a soft knock at the door and Shawn looked up to see a nurse standing in the doorway.

"Visiting hours are over, Mr. Spencer." She told him softly. Shawn nodded and then nurse left to let Shawn say good-bye in private.

Shawn stood, wincing as his body protested the movement after being still all afternoon. He reached out his fist and gently bumped Gus' hand lying on the blanket. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll figure this out." Shawn whispered and headed for the door. Alice Bundy's words were pounding in his brain.

"What would you do, Shawn? What would you do if it was your best friend?"


	2. Twix and Snickers and Regrets

_A few hours after Gus left for work, Shawn decided he had watched enough reruns and braved the rainy afternoon to head to the station. He at least was going to pick up his check and get a snicker's bar. If Gus had bothered to come with him, maybe they would have gotten a twix bar and split it. _

"_Good morning Lassie!" Shawn greeted the head detective. Lassiter was standing at the front desk signing some paperwork. _

_He rolled his eyes and turned to face the psychic. "Not today Spencer, just no."_

"_Lassifrass, all I did was come here to pick up my check." Shawn reassured the detective. The older man was definitely in a more pissed off mood than usual. "The spirits are telling me something is wrong." Shawn furrowed his brow in concentration. Nothing about the detective himself seemed out of place. His hair wasn't as horrible as it had been, his ties were getting less ugly, and his suits still plain. _

"_Spencer, I'm not in the mood for your spiritual bull crap today." Lassiter snapped at him. "Just leave, take Guster with you and go do those ridiculous shenanigans somewhere else." With that he left for his own desk. _

_Shawn stuck his tongue out at the detective's retreating back. "Oh yeah! Well Gus isn't here today!" He shouted, "Who looks stupid now? You do." He froze as he realized the entire station was watching him. He ducked his head and went over to Jules' desk. She would be easier to glean case information from then Lassiter._

"_Not today, Shawn." Juliet reiterated Lassiter's objections as she stacked files on her desk. "It's Friday and we all want to get done as soon as possible so we can head home for the weekend." Shawn pretended to stretch so he could get a look at the file Juliet had open in front of her._

"_I can sense you're struggling to find a car thief." Shawn used his distant sounding voice, which usually made the 'vision' more believable._

"_Seriously Shawn, Lassiter is on a war path if he sees you goofing off around here he'll throw you out or shoot you." Juliet's tone was clipped. _

_Shawn followed her as she headed to the file room to put away some of the folders. "Jules c'mon I just need something to do while Gus is away."_

"_The department isn't here for your entertainment, Spencer," Lassiter's irritated voice snapped. He had come over when he saw Shawn hovering around Juliet. "I thought I told you to scram. Now get out before I have McNab escort you out." Lassiter started to raise his hand to wave the younger cop over. _

"_No, it's alright, Lassie." Shawn held up his hands to appease the irate detective. "I'll get out of your hair, which looks good today." He headed for the door before Lassiter could yell at him for giving a compliment. He had made it out the door and down to his bike when McNab came rushing out of the station._

"_Shawn!" The rookie was out of breath. "Shawn, a call just came into dispatch. A blue Toyota echo hit a light pole down at 16__th__ and Lane." Shawn wasn't sure if McNab said anything after that. He wasn't sure if Lassiter and Juliet had known about the crash. All Shawn was sure of is that he was going to get to 16__th__ and Lane as quickly as possible._

Shawn didn't head back to his apartment after leaving the hospital. He went to the psych office. He needed to figure out what had happened. Gus was a good driver and even though it had been raining there's no way he should have driven off the road and hit that lamp post. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Something at the accident scene hadn't sat right with him, but he couldn't focus on it. Not with Gus hurt and in the hospital. Shawn tried to clear his thoughts. He sorted through the mental pictures of the crash, skipping the ones with Gus in them. He couldn't look at those just yet. There had been something in the car, something that didn't belong.

_Shawn had gotten to the scene just after the fire fighters and ambulance did. Within three minutes Lassiter and O'Hara had pulled up as well. The fire fighters had needed to use the Jaws of Life to extract Gus from the driver's side. That's where the car had smashed into the light pole. It hadn't been a skinny metal light pole like you had in downtown. It had been a giant wooden tree of a light pole in the rural area surrounding Santa Barbara._

"_Gus! Gus!" Shawn remembered yelling a lot as he turned off his bike and started running for the smashed car._

"_Spencer! It isn't safe," Lassiter came rushing up behind him, grabbed the back of the younger man's jacket and wrapped an arm around his chest to hold him back. The rain was still pelting down getting everyone at the scene soaking wet. Shawn pulled away from the detective. The passenger side was facing the street and Shawn could see the door had come open in the crash. The fire fighters had gotten Gus out and the EMTs were stabilizing him as they put him in the ambulance. _

_Juliet had made Shawn go to the hospital with Gus and that's where he had been until the nurse kicked him out that night. The first night he had spent in the ER waiting for the doctors to tell him anything about Gus. Gus' parents were on vacation in the Bahamas and Joy was working in Milan. Shawn could hear the disappointment in their voices when he had called them from the ER. He could tell they blamed him for what had happened to Gus. _

"_Gus never drove above 55 before he started on these psychic shenanigans with you." Is what Gus' dad had yelled at Shawn over the phone before hanging up._

Shawn jerked awake out of a fitful sleep. He glanced at the clock and groaned when he realized it was only four in the morning. He slowly stretched the kink out of his neck. The desk chairs he had bought off Craig's List were not ergonomical as they had been advertised.

There were a bunch of messages on the office phone. Shawn had put the office phone on silent after he'd gotten back. Right now he didn't feel like talking to anyone. He had hoped there would be messages from Jules or even Lassie with more information about the case, but the twelve messages were all from his dad. They all contained the same basic request; for Shawn to charge his phone and to call him back.

As soon as it was light, Shawn was out at the accident scene. The police had collected evidence, taken pictures and then the accident site had been cleared. As the cars zoomed by on the road Shawn stood by the tree and looked around. It just didn't add up. Even if Gus had been going fast, this was a perfectly straight stretch of road, he hadn't over corrected to compensate for a curve, he had just veered across the double yellow line and hit the tree straight on. Shawn shivered.

He narrowed his eyes at the pavement and then pulled out his cell to call Juliet. Shawn sighed when he was met again with the blank screen. He'd completely forgotten to charge his phone again.

The blueberry was at the police impound. It was probably totaled. Gus would be crushed. The little blue car had held up so well during their crazy cases, and had even survived Shawn pimping it out a few years ago. Shawn could hear Gus' voice in his head: _That is a company car, Shawn. I need it for work. _Yeah, Gus was going to crushed when Shawn told him.

Shawn maneuvered his motorcycle into traffic and headed for two places; the hospital and the station. The hospital first.


	3. Now the World's Gotten in the Way

There were more people at the hospital then there had been the night before. It took Shawn a few minutes to find a parking spot. He took the stairs two and a time to get to the third floor where Gus' room was. He slowed when he saw the door ajar. Peeking inside he saw his dad sitting next to the bed. Shawn tried to turn and walk back down the hallway, but his dad's voice stopped him.

"Don't even think about running away," Henry's voice floated out the door. It wasn't harsh, but there was an edge to it.

Shawn nudged the door open with his foot and stood in the doorway holding his helmet in one hand and a fuzzy bear in the other.

"You never called me back," Henry stated, looking Shawn up and down.

"I haven't had time to charge my phone," Shawn narrowed his eyes when he realized his dad was sitting in _his _chair. Shawn moved his gaze to the bed. Gus was still the same as yesterday. The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only disturbance in the silence that had fallen on the room.

"I got a call from Lassiter," Henry said breaking into Shawn's thoughts. "The accident reconstruction was finished."

Shawn snapped his head to look at his dad.

Henry sighed. "He says it was an accident, the rain was heavy that time of the afternoon. Gus must have misjudged it and crashed. It happened a million times while I was on the force."

"Gus is a good driver." Shawn jutted his chin out in defiance as he defended his best friend.

"Even good drivers-" Henry started to say.

"There were no skid marks." Shawn pointed out what he had seen earlier at the crash site.

"What?" Henry wasn't sure if he had heard his son right.

"Skid marks," Shawn repeated. "There were no skid marks on the pavement. You can't sit there in my chair and tell me that Gus crossed the double yellow line and did nothing to prevent himself from crashing for fifty feet." His voice rose in volume as he talked.

"Maybe he was distracted, maybe he didn't realize until it was too late." Henry was doing what he always did; question Shawn's assumptions.

"Maybe this wasn't a car crash."

"Shawn," Henry's voice was softer, almost trying to reason with him. "I know you don't want to blame Gus for any of this."

"You called mom!" Shawn half shouted when he realized what Henry was saying. He sounded hurt and angry. "You only ever use psychoanalytical-ese when you talk with mom." He set the fuzzy bear down roughly on the small table next to the door. Without another word he turned on his heel and stormed down the stairs.

He jammed the helmet on his head and revved up his bike. He needed to see the accident report and he needed to talk to Juliet.

Juliet was nowhere to be found when Shawn got to the station. McNab was manning the front desk. When he saw Shawn approaching him he gave the psychic a half-hearted smile.

"Hey Shawn, how's Gus doing?" The rookie's voice was missing it's normal cheerful tone.

"Where're Lassiter and Juliet?" Shawn jumped straight to the point. He didn't want to talk about Gus.

"They got a lead on the car jacking case. They headed out about an hour ago."

"Why are they still working the car case? What about Gus?" Shawn couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I thought they said Gus' crash was an accident." McNab looked confused. "The accident reconstruction came back and they can't find anything wrong."

Shawn took a couple of deep breathes before replying to that comment. "Buzz, I was hoping you could hook me up with a copy of the accident report." When McNab gave him a confused look Shawn continued. "Because, this," He waved his hand around his head. "Is telling me that there's more to this case."

"Mr. Spencer," Chief Vick's voice interrupted before McNab could respond.

Shawn turned to see the chief just outside her office.

"A word, please."

Shawn thought about not going into the chief's office, but slowly walked through the doorway. The chief was sitting behind her desk.

"Have a seat," she motioned to one of the chairs in front of her.

Shawn didn't sit down. He just folded his arms and waited for her to continue.

"Mr. Spencer, Shawn," The chief's voice was sympathetic. "I understand that you want to find out who is responsible, but all of the reconstructions the department has done indicate driver error to be the cause of Mr. Guster's accident."

"Chief, there's more to this than driver error," Shawn started to protest.

"I know you want someone to be responsible for this." The chief echoed Henry's words from earlier. "But, I haven't seen any evidence to suggest anything other then an untimely accident. So unless you have conclusive evidence or you have something to contribute to Detective Lassiter's case I suggest you go to the hospital." There was a note of finality in her voice that Shawn didn't miss.

Shawn's eyes flickered to the file folder in a pile on the chief's desk. The initials BG caught his attention. He turned and left without saying good-bye to the chief. Instead of heading to the hospital like he should, Shawn headed for the seldom used basement alcove. He had also gotten a look at the chief's day planner and her daughter, Iris had a ballet recital at two. He sat down on the bench and waited.

He tried hard to visualize the crash scene again, still refusing to look at the mental images of Gus. There had been something wrong with the passenger side. Shawn thought hard. There hadn't been anything in the passenger seat. Gus usually put his samples case in the trunk or in the backseat. Plus, Gus had made Shawn clean out all the laffy taffy wrappers the day before. Shawn had been saving the jokes for later.

Shawn jerked out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He checked his watch, it was 2:15. Shawn caught a glimpse of Dobson's head as the man headed for the men's room across the way from his bench. Satisfied the coast was clear, Shawn snuck upstairs to the chief's office. Lassiter and O'Hara will still nowhere to be seen and everyone else was too busy with their own work to notice Shawn slipping into the office.

The file was still where it had been earlier. Shawn quickly flipped through it. Most of it were the boring things; road conditions, weather at the time (raining, Shawn's still soaked shoes could attest to that.) Then something caught Shawn's eye, it was such a small detail no one would have noticed unless they were looking for it, the report stated Gus' windows had been rolled down at the scene. Shawn flipped through the file until he found the pictures. The crumpled shell of the blueberry looked worse than Shawn had remembered. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the report was right. Gus' windows had been rolled down. When he flipped to the last picture, one of the passenger side, Shawn remembered what he had been thinking about earlier. The passenger side floor had a smear of mud on it. Shawn and Gus had been friends since grade school and there were two things Shawn knew about Burton Guster, he didn't ride in his car with the windows down in the rain and he didn't let muddy shoes in his car.


	4. They Say Your Both Being Fools

With the odd information from the accident report in the front of his mind, Shawn carefully snuck out of the chief's office. He made it to the front doors without being spotted. He nearly collided with Lassiter as the head detective and O'Hara were coming through the other side of the door.

"Watch it, Spencer." Lassiter growled, earning him a glare from his partner.

"How's Gus?" Juliet's voice was soft and her eyes were full of concern.

Shawn opened his mouth, but then closed it and shrugged. "Oh you know the same, coma'd….." He trailed off and shoved his hands in his pockets. "How's your case going?"

"Fine," Lassiter snapped. "We're fine, so don't even think about butting in on our case."

"I wasn't planning on it," Shawn retorted. "I'm busy working on the case of the person who put my best friend in a coma." He brushed past the detectives and headed for his bike.

"It was an accident." He heard Lassiter call after him, followed by a grunt, which meant Juliet had elbowed him in the ribs.

"What do you think Shawn meant by that?" Juliet asked later breaking the hour's worth of silence between her and Lassiter. She was sitting at her desk, trying to sort through the statements they'd taken from witnesses earlier.

"Meant by what?" Lassiter asked distractedly from his own desk.

"About someone putting Gus in a coma."

"I think he's disturbed mentally." Lassiter didn't look up from the papers in front of him.

"He's usually right," Juliet tried to reason.

"O'Hara," Lassiter cut her off. "I've seen it before; when a partner is injured or killed the partner who didn't get hurt always tries to rationalize it, because they feel like it's their fault." Juliet didn't respond right away giving Lassiter a chance to add. "That's how I felt."

Shawn spent the next half hour trying to track down the wrecking company that had taken Gus' car from police impound. Now that the accident report had come out, West Coast Pharmeceuticals had already claimed insurance on it and was getting it repaired.

Gus would be glad to hear that the blueberry could be saved. Shawn briefly thought as he parked his bike across the street. He crossed the street and walked into the small building that served as an office for the wrecking company. A small bell dinged above the door.

"I'll be right with you," A man's voice called from the back.

Shawn gave the tiny room a quick look over, a tall counter divided the room. On his half there were a couple of old chairs and some People magazines from probably ten years before. A small plant tried furiously to make the small waiting area seem welcoming, (it was failing horribly.) On the other side was a doorway that led to the large warehouse area where they fixed the cars. There was a desk piled with paperwork, with a computer sitting precariously on one edge, but before Shawn could think about trying to see what was on the desk, the man walked through the doorway.

"What can I do for you?" He looked expectantly at Shawn.

"Afternoon, Ralph," Shawn found the name patch on the man's jumpsuit. "My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my associate, Merl-" Shawn motioned to the side and then realized Gus wasn't there to get called whatever nickname Shawn would have come up with. Ralph gave Shawn a questioning look. "Never mind," Shawn murmured.

"Do you want something or not, buddy?" Ralph didn't seem to be in the mood to chit-chat.

"Somebody brought in a little blue car within the last couple days, right?"

Ralph nodded, "Yeah, lots of work to be done on that thing. Al said the guy hit a light post. The driver's side is completely smashed in. It'll take a few weeks to get parts in and then we'll have to spend a few days fixing it."

"Was there anything in the car?"

Again Ralph nodded, "West Coast Pharmaceuticals came and picked up the guys drug case, but his personal stuff is here."

"What're you gonna do with it," Shawn didn't know if the guy would even let him have Gus' things.

"We sent 'em over to the hospital," Ralph grunted. "Hopefully the driver will pull through. Can I do anything else for you?"

"No, thanks." Shawn left without saying good-bye. Gus' things hadn't been at the hospital when he had gone earlier, but maybe they were there now, after all it had been a few hours. 


	5. You're Breaking All the Rules

Shawn checked for his father carefully before entering Gus' room. Thankfully Henry was gone, probably to go fishing or water his precious plants, Shawn thought as he quietly pushed open the door.

The sight that met his eyes was completely changed from when Shawn had been there that morning. There were probably a dozen flower arrangements scattered on every surface in the room.

Shawn inspected a few of the cards. The big ugly looking one was from West Coast Pharmaceuticals, wishing Gus a speedy recovery. Shawn snorted in disbelief at that sentiment. The chief had sent one on behalf of the department. Juliet had sent one, signing it to be from both herself and Lassiter, but Shawn recognized the junior detective's small feminine handwriting in both signatures. McNab and his wife had sent their own smaller version of the departmental gift. There were a few from Gus' relatives. There was one from Shawn's mom. Shawn grinned as he read the next card. Ewan O'Hara had sent one made out to 'Gee Buttersnaps'. Gus would be mad about two things, Shawn reasoned, the fact that Ewan still didn't know his name and the fact that the different flowers would be wrecking havoc on the super smeller.

Stacked in a neat pile were Gus' personal effects from the car. Shawn tossed aside the CDs and books Gus had in the car in case of boredom emergencies. Gus' portfolio of doctors on his route was a bust as well. Shawn also put that to the side and then frowned. There was a business card stuck to the back of the folder. Gus did not leave business cards out. Shawn narrowed his eyes at the name on the card 'Dr. Matheson'. Why did that name sound familiar? Shawn looked at the card closer. Dr. Matheson was a pediatrician. Shawn frowned. Gus didn't have any kid's doctors on his route. The drugs he sold weren't for children. Why would Gus have a pediatrician's card if he wouldn't be visiting on his route? Shawn tucked the card in his back pocket and glanced over at his friend.

"It'd really help if you'd wake up, buddy." Shawn whispered before turning to leave.

hcyspsych

On his way out of the hospital Shawn pulled out his phone to call Juliet. Maybe she would be able to help him figure out who this Dr. Matheson was. The phone was still dead; Shawn still hadn't had time to charge it.

He stopped by a gas station to use the pay phone. He really didn't want to bother with going back to the station. Lassiter would just yell at him again, and Juliet would flash her apologetic looks at him.

"How's Gus?" Those were the first words out of Juliet's mouth as soon as Shawn told her who was calling.

"He's… the same," Shawn mumbled. "Listen Jules, I'm getting this weird vibe on a Alan Matheson."

"Matheson?" Juliet repeated. "Shawn," she paused and Shawn could imagine her looking around to make sure Lassiter wouldn't hear the next part. "Shawn, Matheson is a person of interest in our car jacking case."

"Car thieves? Jules the spirits are telling me he's a pediatrician."

"Matheson is a con artist, maybe he moonlighted as a doctor for a while." Shawn heard a muffled 'That'd better not be a personal call O'Hara', and then Juliet responded with. "And don't call back asking for information Spencer." The tones of her partner lurking in her voice.

Shawn hung up the phone and headed for the Psych office.

hcyspsych

Shawn walked through the office door and slipped off his jacket, feeling the weight of his long dead phone in the pocket, he finally hooked it up to the charger on his desk.

Pulling the business card out of his back pocket he headed to Gus' desk to use the computer. He picked Gus' computer because it was faster. It had nothing to with the fact Shawn had spilled orange soda on his computer keyboard earlier that week and it was still sticky.

Shawn typed in the address on Alan Matheson's card and waited to see what would pop up. The online map popped up and something in Shawn's brain clicked. The address on Matheson's card was only about a mile from where Gus had crashed.

Shawn wracked his brain trying to figure out who the last doctor on Gus' route was. As good as his memory was, he actually had never paid attention to Gus' ramblings about his other job. Pharmaceuticals were boring and Shawn tended to zone out when Gus talked about them.

He still couldn't think of it, so he picked up the office phone and once again dialed Juliet's number.

hcyspsych

Lassiter glanced up when his partner's phone rang. O'Hara was down in the file room at the moment. Curiosity got the better of the head detective and he sneaked a glance at the caller ID. He scowled when he recognized the office number for Spencer's supposed office. He grabbed the phone off the hook and growled into it.

"Spencer, Detective O'Hara is busy at the moment. So call back when she's not working a case."

"Lassie?" The psychic's puzzled voice floated across the receiver. "Well you can answer my question too."

"Spencer, I'm not answering questions about my case."

"It's not about your case," Shawn spat into the phone. Lassiter could almost hear the frown on his face. "Which doctor was Gus supposed to visit on his route?"

"Dr. Erickson," Lassiter only remembered that because he'd been the one to call about whether Guster had ever visited him. "Are we done here?" He was rewarded with a click as Shawn hung up the phone. "Damn psychic."

O'Hara got back to her desk as Lassiter was hanging up her phone. "Who called?"

"Spencer," Lassiter shook his head. "Just had a question about Guster's route. What'd you find on the plates?" He brought her attention back to their own case.


	6. Who Can Say? There's a Way!

Shawn stared at the map on Gus' computer screen. Dr. Erickson's offices were nowhere near the crash site. If Gus had been on his way to visit him, why was he on the other side of town?

He played with Alan Matheson's business card in his fingers. If Gus had been going to see Dr. Matheson, that made sense, it was near the crash. Shawn frowned, but Matheson was a con man not a doctor. He rubbed his forehead with his hands. He hadn't really slept in days and all this thinking was making his head hurt. Without Gus to be his sounding board, Shawn felt as if his head would burst.

Shawn wasn't sure how long he sat at the computer just staring at the screen. Finally he shook himself and started to head out the door. A little voice in the back of his head, which sounded an awful lot like Gus, was telling him to go to the police station to convince Lassie and Jules to help him find Matheson. Shawn pushed that voice to the side as he started up his bike. He had to go check out Matheson's address before he tried to talk Lassiter into helping him.

hcyspsych

"Why do you think the spirits pegged Matheson as somebody Shawn should ask us about?" Juliet interrupted her partner's train of thought as she voiced the thought that had been puzzling her since Shawn had called earlier.

Lassiter rolled his eyes before turning to look at her. "O'Hara, Spencer is in a disturbed state of mind," He paused and then muttered. "more than usual." O'Hara frowned at him, but let him continue. "What did you find on Matheson?" He headed for her desk to check on the work she'd done.

"There's only one known address on file for him." O'Hara turned her computer monitor so Lassiter could see. "Remmington Ct." She realized something. "That's only a half mile from where Gus had his accident." She glanced at her partner when he didn't say anything.

Despite being bested by Spencer on a weekly basis, Carlton Lassiter hadn't been named the youngest head detective in department history for nothing. His finely tuned criminal catching mind was working now as he pieced together the information.

"What is it?" Juliet looked concerned when Lassiter didn't say anything.

"Damn it, O'Hara, I didn't think he'd be such an idiot." Lassiter jotted down the address and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Grab your gun." He snapped at her. "If Spencer is his normal two steps ahead of us, then we'll need it."

Juliet grabbed her sidearm from her locked desk drawer. She had to hurry to keep up with Lassiter's long strides. "Carlton, I still don't understand what's going on?" She gripped the armrest of the car as her partner fired up the sirens and flashers and made a sharp left out of the station lot.

"I just hope Spencer isn't going to do what I think he's going to do."

hcyspsych

Shawn parked his bike near the street and stood staring at the house. This had been the address listed on Matheson's business card, hardly a child friendly place. It was old, half abandoned and in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. The ground was still damp from the rain on Friday.

Steeling himself Shawn crept around to the side of the house. For once the sneaking skills his father had drilled into him during all those games of hide-and-seek were useful for something besides scaring Gus during their horror movie marathon on Halloween. Hopefully they'd get to do that this year, Shawn thought as he glanced into the house.

There was a door on the side of the house and Shawn slipped through it. He paused, making sure he hadn't alerted anyone of his presence. Not hearing any movement, Shawn looked around. The kitchen was cleaner then it could have been considering the appearance of exterior of the house. There were fresh dishes near the sink. The refrigerator was running and the clock on the microwave had been adjusted for day light savings time.

Shawn crept through the kitchen and down the hall. He could hear a television towards the front of the house. Slowly he made his way into the living room. The TV was on, the blinds were drawn and there was someone seated at a card table going over papers.

A balding man in his mid-forties looked up as Shawn entered the room. In one fluid motion the man's hand flew to the gun on the table, he stood and leveled the gun even with Shawn's chest.

"Who are you," He growled his voice raspy like that of a habitual smoker.

"Shawn Spencer, psychic detective. And you're Alan Matheson I presume."

Matheson's face flickered with confusion. "What's it to you?"

"You don't mean anything to me, but you've met my best friend, Burton Guster." Shawn could feel a pit forming in his stomach. Now that he was here in the house, he wasn't really sure how this situation would unfold. He couldn't feel the familiar weight of his iphone in his jacket pocket, because he had left the phone in the office earlier, charging so that if he did encounter an emergency he could call someone.

"The pharmaceutical rep?" Matheson made a face of annoyance. "You moonlight as a pediatrician for one afternoon and you get yourself saddled with the stupidest sales rep out there."

"Gus isn't stupid," Shawn defended his buddy immediately.

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"Damn it, Spencer pick up your phone." Lassiter growled as his call was directed to the psychic's voicemail once again. He skidded to a halt outside the address O'Hara had found. He swore when he saw Shawn's bike leaned against the tree. "Call for backup, I'm going in."

"Carlton, wait you can't." O'Hara knew her partner shouldn't go in alone.

"Just call for backup." Lassiter snapped. His glock was out and at the ready as he made his way around the house.

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Matheson glanced towards the window when he heard the sirens, then turned his attention back to Shawn. "What are you doing here?"

"You put my best friend in a coma. My best friend since before I can remember. We were adventure scouts together. We have solved over fifty cases for the Santa Barbara Police Department and we're the best three-legged racers in the tri-county area." Shawn could feel the pit in his stomach being replaced with a surge of pride.

"Your friend saw too much," Matheson repeated.

Shawn could see a bruise forming on the right side of Matheson's face, probably from where he had hit the frame of the car during the crash. Shawn moved a hand towards his temple. "He saw you stealing a car, but not his car, just a random car. You got into the blueberry with him and then something happened and you crashed, but you escaped. Did you hit him?" His eyes flashed with anger at the thought of Matheson harming Gus.

Lassiter came up behind Shawn at that moment, gun drawn and focused on the con man. "Spencer," His voice was low and calm.

Matheson jerked at the new presence. "Stay where you are," His voice was shakier and his finger was dangerously close to the trigger.

"It's too late for you," Shawn said darkly. "This is the most finest of Santa Barbara's finest."

"Shut it, Spencer." Lassiter hadn't moved his attention away from Matheson. Outside he could hear the tell tale sound of more police sirens. Backup was on it's way, now Lassiter just had to figure out how to get out with any of them getting shot.

"Shoot him Lassie." Shawn's voice was still dark and very unlike the psychic's normal tone. "He's why Gus is in the hospital."

"I can't do that, Spencer."

"What if it had been Juliet?" Shawn turned to look at Lassiter, his eyes wet with emotion.

"It was O'Hara," Lassiter reminded Shawn.

"And when it was you went after Yin."

"No!" Lassiter's voice was rough with the memory of that night. "I went after my partner. Guster isn't dangling from a clock tower, he's in the hospital. We're not here to do justice, Spencer. We're just here to make an arrest."

Shawn looked helplessly at Matheson and then back to the detective. His shoulders slumped. "Book 'em, Lassie,"

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McNab ran up to Juliet as soon as his car was parked. "What's going on?"

"Lassiter and Shawn are both in there," Juliet looked more worried then Buzz could ever remember seeing her. "I think Matheson is as well."

A shot rang out from the house and Juliet whipped her head to look fearfully at the peeling paint and knew if someone was hurt the odds of it being her partner or her friend were high.


	7. You're Not Even Aware

After the shot had sounded, things seemed to move in slow motion. Juliet alerted dispatch and requested an ambulance. She watched as a few uniformed officers swarmed the house. Two came out moments later leading a cuffed Matheson to one of the cruisers. Then her partner emerged, he was supporting Shawn and Juliet could see a dark stain forming on the psychic's jeans.

"Shawn! Shawn, are you okay?" Juliet rushed to the two men.

The psychic cracked a smile, grimacing at the same time. "Yeah, I think the bullet just grazed me, but Lassie thinks we need to check it out."

The EMTs rushed over and relieved Lassiter of his burden. As Spencer was rushed to the waiting ambulance the junior detective turned to her partner.

"What happened?" Juliet bit her lip.

Lassiter straightened his jacket and tie. "Matheson was spooked by the sirens and fired. His gun was lowered and hit Spencer's leg. While he was distracted, I cuffed him."

"Did Matheson confess?"

Lassiter shook his head. "I didn't hear him say anything, but it will only be a matter of time before I have him talking like a cheap parrot." He watched the ambulance drive off. "Contact Spencer's father, and stop by their office. Apparently the psychic forgot his phone." He ordered O'Hara, scowling slightly.

"Where are you going?" Juliet looked at his suspiciously.

"To question my suspect. I'll meet you at the hospital later." Lassiter snapped. He looked irritated, but Juliet could see the worry in his eyes.

When Juliet got to the hospital she found Shawn sitting in Gus' room. Knocking softly she entered.

Shawn looked over at her. He was in a wheel chair and his right leg was elevated. "Hey," He murmured.

"Hey," Juliet slowly sat down in the chair next to Shawn. "How are you doing?"

Shawn shrugged. "The bullet just grazed my leg. The doctors stitched me up and since my dad was out fishing and I can't drive home, I had them put me up here."

"I brought you your phone," Juliet handed the iphone to Shawn.

Shawn gave a half smile, "I really should remember to charge this more often. Did Lassie arrest Matheson?" He turned, wincing as he jostled his leg.

Juliet nodded. "He confessed after Lassiter threatened to charge him with assaulting a police consultant."

"That's not a real charge." Shawn pointed out, a thread of amusement in his voice.

"It turns out Matheson was trying to hijack a car when Gus spotted him. Matheson had his pediatrician cards in his pocket and tried to convince Gus the car was his, but Gus was persistent and Matheson ended up forcing him in the echo and made him drive back to the warehouse. He claims Gus turned the car to crash it alone, but no one believes him."

"There's a bruise on the back of Gus' head that doesn't fit any of the things he could have hit in the car." Shawn rubbed the back of his neck.

Silence fell over the two of them and eventually Juliet stood. "I'd better go help Lassiter. Will you be alright until your dad gets here?"

Shawn nodded in response. He was still playing with the phone in his hands. Once Juliet was gone, he stared at the screen. There was a voicemail on his phone. Slowly he typed in his code to access the voice mail and listened.

"_Shawn, you need to remember to charge your phone." _Gus' voice came loud and clear over the phone. There was a pause and then a sigh followed by "_Look, I'm really sorry about storming out on you this morning. I'll pick up the check on my way back to the office. We can go out and get dinner later. Jerk Chicken, whaaat?"_

Shawn stared at the screen after the voicemail ended. Gus had apologized and offered jerk chicken. Shawn looked up at his best friend. "You missed dinner with me buddy. That means you have to pay next time." Shawn let his head drop and just looked at his hands.

"I pay every time," He heard Gus whispered.

"Yeah, I know, buddy…." Shawn paused and trailed off. He jerked his head up to see the brown eyes of Burton Guster open and the man smiling and scowling at the same time, if that was possible.

"Hey," Gus whispered.

"Hey," Shawn smiled.


End file.
